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PLASTICS INDUSTRY RELEASES LATEST RECYCLING FIGURES Johannesburg, 22 November 2021. Plastics SA, the umbrella body representing the local plastics industry, has just released the official plastic recycling statistics for the year ending 31 December 2020. Each year, data is collected from plastics recyclers around the country by Plastix 911 on behalf of Plastics SA. PETCO provides figures from their listed PET recyclers, whilst raw material suppliers Sasol and Safripol provide input on the production and domestic demand of plastics raw materials.
Collection and recycling rates decline in 2020, says Plastics SA Plastic industry market sectors:
South Africa’s plastics industry is dominated by the packaging sector (which accounts for roughly 52 % of the local market), followed by building & construction (13 %), agriculture (9 %), automotive and transport applications (7 %).
Due to increased awareness of hygiene caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for flexible packaging increased by 2 % in 2020. Demand for rigid packaging (linked to on-the-go meals, PET beverage bottles and take-away containers) shrunk, although packaging used for domestic- and personal care increased due to the greater emphasis on cleaning and the increased demand for hand sanitisers. Packaging sheeting was also used to manufacture face shields locally. Consumption of virgin and recycled plastics in SA:
South Africa, like most countries around the world, witnessed a decline in collection and recycling rates during 2020, compared to pre-COVID-19 rates. In addition, many recyclers were unable to operate at full capacity for several months during the past year due to social distancing norms. Other factors that adversely affected the plastic recycling activities include ongoing loadshedding, water shortages and high labour costs which forced many operations to scale down, or even close their doors permanently.
At the end of 2021, Plastics SA, the umbrella body representing the local plastics industry, released the official plastic recycling stats for the year ending 31 December 2020. Each year, data is collected from plastics recyclers around the country by Plastix 911 on behalf of Plastics SA. PETCO provides figures from its listed PET recyclers, whilst raw material suppliers Sasol and Safripol provide input on the production and domestic demand of plastics raw materials.
South Africa converted 1 739 480 tons of polymer into plastics products during 2020, a decrease of 5.6 % from 2019. This is the total amount of locally produced polymers, imported polymers and recycled polymers sold to local convertors in South Africa, and excludes polymers exported, virgin and recycled. Locally recycled polymer represented 17 % of the total domestic consumption, a drop from 18.3 % in the previous year. Per capita consumption for locally converted plastics (virgin and recycled) decreased to 29 kg/person (down from 31 kg/person recorded in 2019). Per capita consumption for virgin material only, dropped from 26 kg to 24 kg. Virgin consumption has increased by 11 % since 2011, whilst recycled tonnages, locally converted, increased by 35 % over the same 10 year period.
Plastic recycling in SA
South Africa recorded an input recycling rate of 43.2 % during 2020. 461 500 tons of plastic waste were collected for recycling, of which 312 600 tons were successfully recycled back into raw materials. 296 500 tons of recyclate were used to produce new products while 97 260 tons of recyclate were used to produce new packaging. more 2/…
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outh Africa’s plastics industry is dominated by the packaging sector (which accounts for roughly 52% of the local market), followed by building and construction (13%), agriculture (9%), and automotive and transport applications (7%). Due to increased awareness of hygiene caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for flexible packaging increased 2% in 2020. Demand reduced for rigid packaging (linked to on-the-go meals, PET beverage bottles and take-away containers), although packaging used for home care and personal care increased due to the greater emphasis on cleaning and the increased demand for hand sanitisers. Packaging sheeting was also used to manufacture face shields locally.
CONSUMPTION OF VIRGIN AND RECYCLED PLASTICS South Africa, like most countries worldwide, witnessed a decline in collection and recycling rates during 2020, compared to pre-COVID-19 rates. In addition, many recyclers were unable to operate at full capacity for several months during 2020 due to the hard lockdown and social distancing requirements. Other factors that adversely affected the plastic recycling activities were loadshedding, water shortages and high labour costs. These have forced many operations to scale down, or even close their doors permanently. South Africa converted 1 739 480 tonnes of polymer into plastics products during 2020, a decrease of 5.6% from 2019. This is
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the total amount of locally-produced polymers, imported polymers and recycled polymers sold to local convertors, and excludes polymers exported, virgin and recycled. Locally-recycled polymer represented 17% of the total domestic consumption, a drop from 18.3% in the previous year. Per capita consumption for locally-converted plastics (virgin and recycled) decreased to 29kg/person (down from
"South Africa converted 1 739 480 tonnes of polymer into plastics products during 2020, a decrease of 5.6% from 2019" 31kg/person recorded in 2019). Per capita consumption of virgin material only dropped from 26kg to 24kg. Virgin consumption increased by 11% since 2011, whilst recycled tonnages, converted locally, increased by 35% in the same 10-year period.
LOCAL RECYCLING OF PLASTIC South Africa recorded an input recycling rate of 43.2% during 2020. A total of 461 500t of plastic waste was collected for recycling, of which 312 600t were successfully recycled back into raw materials. Exactly 296 500t of recyclate was used to produce new
products while 97 260t of recyclate was used to produce new packaging. In an attempt to improve the quality of the incoming recyclables while reducing their high recycling cost due to contamination, an increasing number of recyclers have started going directly to the waste generators. This allowed them access to cleaner materials and to maintain their margins, albeit at lower quantities. A total of 64% of the incoming waste came from landfill and other postconsumer sources. Of this, the majority of the volume (54%) was sourced from the formal sector, collectors and waste management companies. Most plastics were baled, but some were also loose materials. Post-industrial materials
